Page 94 of Avenging Angel

Bennett pushes past us and answers for Eva. “Because she was smart enough to know that we would have been watching the house.” He inputs a code into a keypad that unlocks the fence around the large metal container. When he opens the door, rather than pipes, plumbing, or electrical wires, there’s a set of stairs. “After you.”

I scan the area and see the loch in front of me, taking in what could be my last breath of fresh air and realizing that we’re in Scotland. As I look to the west, I see a patch of grass faintly move in the opposite direction of the wind, and a single blue eye peering back at me. The other eye is behind a rifle scope that’s attached to a NLR556TLR. There’s only one group of people with access to the prototype weapon: The Southern Knights.

I’m not sure how the team figured out where I was, or how they beat us here, but if they’re lying in wait, then they have already come up with a plan to rescue us. It’s time for me to go with the flow and trust them to get the job done, especially since I don’t have a weapon of my own.

Eva goes inside first, and I hide the smile that wants to burst free as I follow after her.

As I pass by Bennett, I say, “There’s not much of a security system. Doesn’t that worry you?”

“Daisy, take a look around. No one knows this place exists, which is its own brand of security.”

Chapter thirty-eight

Angel

“Jolly Roger, this is Overwatch,” I say into my comms.

“Go for Jolly Roger,” Roger replies. I can hear the eye roll in his voice as he repeats the name Owen gave him as our team lead. Note to self: never let Owen pick my code name.

“Daisy and Eva appear to be unharmed. They’ve entered the premises.”

“Copy. Prepare to engage once we have eyes inside and audio confirmation,” he says. “Gatekeeper One, what’s your status?”

Owen replies, “Gatekeeper One is linked with Mercury. Once the device is active, we’ll have audio.” Mercury refers to the E-6B Mercury flying overhead ready to receive the VLF transmission and redirect it to us over an encrypted VHF frequency. “Looping external and stairwell cameras now.”

“All teams report,” Roger says in a commanding tone.

“Vanguard, ready,” Vinny replies. Since he’s still officially on the CIA payroll, Ludlow put him in charge of the CIA team of special operators who will enter first.

The next four teams that Ludlow called in for this mission sound off. “Sentinel One, ready. Sentinel Two, ready. Sentinels Three and Four, ready.”

Then Scott confirms, “Knights, ready.”

Ludlow’s booming voice comes across the line. “We’re operating on limited intel, but here’s what we do know. This is a science facility and likely has few armed combatants. Use non-lethal tactics to secure the area, and sidearms only if in immediate danger. This is a capture, not kill, mission. Two hostages are known. Daisy Zurkowski and Eva Vidal. We have an asset on the inside.”

“Do we know how many girls are being detained against their will?”

“Negative. Based on the schematics and the number of sleeping quarters, we estimate no more than ten. Could be less. Could be more.”

There’s a crackle of noise coming in my other earpiece that allows us to hear inside. “Gatekeeper One has audio.”

Bennett’s voice is the first one we hear. “Chelsea, what are you doing here?”

“I assume for the same reason you’re here, Bennett. I was recalled because the FBI has begun investigating Dominion. It won’t be long before they connect the dots and know that the CIA was funding the CIPHER program. We’re going to need our deaths faked, new identities, and a few surgical procedures to alter our appearances again. My husband is going to take the fall, but I’m not going down with the sinking ship.”

Director Ludlow grunts. “To all teams. My wife is the asset, a former officer, and a former resident at Dominion. She is on our side and playing her part. Do not let what she says distract you. Everything you hear is a subtle relay of information to provide intelligence for our teams.”

“Copy,” Vinny says.

“There’s nothing linking you to the CIPHER program,” Bennett tells her. “When you made your choice to work for us, Dominion altered your DNA with a stem cell transplant and gene splicing, then used acid and skin grafts to change your fingerprints. It was enough that you can’t be identified as Abigail Calvert with certainty. That lesson was learned with Eva here. You know this, so why are you really here?”

“I follow orders, Bennett. I don’t question them. When I passed on the intel that the FBI was launching its investigation into Dominion’s operations stateside, I was given the directive to come here. I expect this place to be flooded with agents in the very near future. Covers are about to get burned if this gets out, and every CIA officer or asset is going to be scrutinized down to the finest detail.”

“That’s why I’m getting out while I can. You should do the same,” Bennett says.

Chelsea shifts her conversation from Bennett to Daisy. “Eva Vidal is well-known to just about every officer stationed in Europe, but who are you?”

“Daisy Zurkowski,” she replies.